UPDATED: BBC World Cup 4K Ultra HD - Technical Specs

on ‎08-06-201808:40

The BBC will be making available the 29 live matches shown on BBC One in 4K Ultra HD during the World Cup.

For the first time, as well as 4K resolution, the BBC service will be provided in Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) which enables High Dynamic Range (HDR) providing brighter whites and darker blacks and Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) serving up a wider range of colours than standard broadcast TV.

To access the service, you will need a V6 box running Software version 20.7.6.RC20-VMB-11-C68 and a TV that supports both 4K resolution (2160p) and WCG (otherwise known as BT.2020 or REC.2020).

We are deploying the new software version code now on a staggered basis, and are attempting to target any boxes which are connected to 4K TVs initially where possible.

The BBC will interrogate support for both 4K and WCG via the HDMI connection when the customer enters BBC iPlayer.

Right now, if you open iPlayer, and have the latest software and their TV reports that it supports 4K and WCG the will see the screen below. This screen is set to display every 2-3 days only.

Seeing the screen above should be seen as confirmation by the customer that they have the necessary capability to receive the Ultra HD World Cup streams.

Also of note:

The BBC will make the service available to ‘tens of thousands’ of viewers on a first come first served basis.

Unlike the recent BT Sport 4K UHD trial and current Eurosport 4K Roland Garros event; the BBC World Cup coverage will be delivered to the V6 box via broadband (DOCSIS) rather than broadcast (DVB-C) capacity. Streams will be adaptive bit rate (ABR) with the full 3840 pixel Ultra HD profile, needing at least a 40Mbps connection. We strongly advise a fixed Ethernet connection between the V6 box and Hub.

Some TVs require support for WCG/BT.2020 to be enabled in their settings menus in order for the HDMI to correctly report support.

A number of TVs misreport their capability via HDMI. These TVs will not be able receive the World Cup service.

Some Smart TVs that fail the HDMI check may still offer the service directly within the BBC iPlayer app on the set.

In order to ensure that the output of the V6 box is 4K resolution, only the 2160p and 2160p Pass-through settings should be selected in the Video Output settings menu [Home > Settings > Video Output]

Audio will be provided in 2-channel PCM stereo only

Video streams may be up to 1 minute behind broadcast

Update 18th June 2018

Thank you for sharing your feedback on the BBC’s 4K Ultra HD World Cup trial over the past few days.

So far, the quality of the UHD picture that the vast majority of our customers have been able to access has been excellent. However, as can be the case with new technology trials, we are aware that some of our customers have experienced occasional video buffering and loss of audio when watching games in 4K UHD. Customers are reporting these issues when accessing the trial feed through both the V6 box and smart TV apps .

Ahead of tonight’s England game, we want to remind you that the match will be shown live in HD on BBC1 HD (Channel 108 on Virgin TV). This will offer the most reliable feed for the big game and will be broadcast without the delays encountered with Internet delivered streams, helping you avoid any spoilers from the neighbours....